Go Back  PPRuNe Forums > Misc. Forums > Spectators Balcony (Spotters Corner)
Reload this Page >

Interesting aircraft - what have you seen on your computer today?

Wikiposts
Search
Spectators Balcony (Spotters Corner) If you're not a professional pilot but want to discuss issues about the job, this is the best place to loiter. You won't be moved on by 'security' and there'll be plenty of experts to answer any questions.

Interesting aircraft - what have you seen on your computer today?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 1st Feb 2022, 13:19
  #2361 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: se england
Posts: 1,579
Likes: 0
Received 48 Likes on 21 Posts
The musical A400s are hard not to hear if any where near you .. I live in Frome Somerset and regular inbounds and outbounds for Brize. The Hercs have an liking for impressive very low level transits on their way home but never the A400s . Having assumed one was basically a 21st century version of the other I wonder why that is the case

pax britanica is offline  
Old 1st Feb 2022, 13:49
  #2362 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: There and here
Posts: 2,863
Received 24 Likes on 17 Posts
Could it be something to do with regulations regarding lower level flight due to the larger size and weight of the A400 ? The noise would be more of an issue I should imagine.
SpringHeeledJack is offline  
Old 1st Feb 2022, 18:38
  #2363 (permalink)  
BSD
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Deepest Essex.
Posts: 434
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
On my hols in South Africa and found myself driving round the Chapmans peak scenic drive (Cape Town) at about 8:30 this morning.

A large piston engined airliner flew past offshore, less than 1000' amsl I'd say, but alas had my hands full of steering wheel and couldn't take it in property.

Haven't been able to retrospectively interrogate FR24, but I wonder if anyone can enlighten me.

DC-3? Or, could it have been a DC-4?

Over to you experts.....

BSD is offline  
Old 4th Feb 2022, 18:43
  #2364 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: se england
Posts: 1,579
Likes: 0
Received 48 Likes on 21 Posts
Springheels

The Hercs down low are not very noisy though they do look pretty darn big and low especially when you are on a hill and they are flying over a valley. I ve never seen an AB400 close up so not sure how big they are . We get plenty of C17s overhead outbound from 4000 to about 8000 ft but I suspect they wouldnt be welcome at low level. The best entertainment is the occasional Chinnook which gets fed up following the railway and does a couple of very low slow orbits over a particularly pretty spot making more noise than all the aforementioned three put together , tic
pax britanica is offline  
Old 4th Feb 2022, 22:03
  #2365 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 1,221
Received 9 Likes on 7 Posts
Not long after we started visiting South Somerset before moving here permanently I was heading back up the A303 towards Berkshire and overtaking a lorry. I thought it was rather loud. At which point two low-level C-130s appeared from brhind me and into my two o'clock and disappeared over the next hill.

These days the A400 whine is so distinctive and frequently heard I don't even look up!
Hartington is offline  
Old 5th Feb 2022, 12:19
  #2366 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: London UK
Posts: 7,651
Likes: 0
Received 18 Likes on 15 Posts
Originally Posted by pax britanica
The best entertainment is the occasional Chinnook which gets fed up following the railway and does a couple of very low slow orbits over a particularly pretty spot making more noise than all the aforementioned three put together
We quite regularly get these at Canary Wharf, sometimes even in formation, following the river. So Yadda-YADda-YADDA as the come down one side of the area, following the bend of the river to Greenwich, then a minute later Yadda-YADda-YADDA as they come back up the other side.

Quite some years ago now there was a Lord Mayor's Show one Saturday morning, including a substantial heavy helicopter formation, which assembled over London City. Weather awful, heavy rain, and cloud down to display height. They tried to formate up for about five minutes, deafening the area, before knocking it on the head. Shame. I wonder if any of their crews are on here now.
WHBM is offline  
Old 10th Feb 2022, 09:42
  #2367 (permalink)  
Gnome de PPRuNe
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 60
Posts: 12,616
Received 291 Likes on 159 Posts
Something eight-engined this way comes... currently abeam Belfast and heading towards Fairford. C-5 has just left there.

Two more in the Islay area...

Last edited by treadigraph; 10th Feb 2022 at 10:14.
treadigraph is offline  
Old 10th Feb 2022, 12:10
  #2368 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: 03 ACE
Age: 73
Posts: 1,011
Received 28 Likes on 18 Posts

One I took earlier at Red Flag ! El G.
El Grifo is offline  
Old 10th Feb 2022, 12:22
  #2369 (permalink)  
Gnome de PPRuNe
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 60
Posts: 12,616
Received 291 Likes on 159 Posts
Love to see one over Sarf Croydon, preferably at low level. Neighbours would just assume it was something going into Heathrow... albeit a bit sooty.
treadigraph is offline  
Old 10th Feb 2022, 13:15
  #2370 (permalink)  
Gnome de PPRuNe
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 60
Posts: 12,616
Received 291 Likes on 159 Posts
RAF C-17 heading into Northolt...
treadigraph is offline  
Old 10th Feb 2022, 21:43
  #2371 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: London UK
Posts: 7,651
Likes: 0
Received 18 Likes on 15 Posts
Bombardier Challenger 9H-VCO, seemingly normally Luton-based, just made a late night transit from there to Biggin Hill, having got an absolute direct track across Central London, not much above 2,000 ft. Would have woken up a good few children along the way - including here ! Trust they were VMC at Alexandra Palace etc.
WHBM is offline  
Old 11th Feb 2022, 10:19
  #2372 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: There and here
Posts: 2,863
Received 24 Likes on 17 Posts
Anyone know if the B52's will be tootling around UK airspace today ? If so, any callsigns to be able to track them ?
SpringHeeledJack is offline  
Old 11th Feb 2022, 11:31
  #2373 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Reading, UK
Posts: 15,816
Received 201 Likes on 93 Posts
Originally Posted by SpringHeeledJack
Anyone know if the B52's will be tootling around UK airspace today ? If so, any callsigns to be able to track them ?
As noted in the JetBlast thread, they used HATEnn callsigns on the radio. AFAIK, the B-52s don't use Mode S, possibly not Mode A/C either, so tracking them won't be easy.
DaveReidUK is offline  
Old 11th Feb 2022, 12:01
  #2374 (permalink)  
Gnome de PPRuNe
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 60
Posts: 12,616
Received 291 Likes on 159 Posts
The B-52s were showing up OK yesterday, noted all four on ADSB Exchange and Plane Finder. The two that tooled around at Tain were originally only showing as one aircraft but eventually the second appeared and made its own way to Fairford.

Interestingly, there is currently a Motor Sich AN-12 UR-11819 apparently doing circuits at Dunsfold, having arrived from somewhere south of the Med... Height info looks iffy though but each circuit coincides neatly with the runway.
treadigraph is offline  
Old 11th Feb 2022, 14:52
  #2375 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Scotland
Posts: 118
Received 76 Likes on 31 Posts

FR24 suggested Typhoons spotted just north of (and somewhat above) Aberdeen shortly before 1pm today.
campbeex is offline  
Old 11th Feb 2022, 15:03
  #2376 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: There and here
Posts: 2,863
Received 24 Likes on 17 Posts
Interestingly, there is currently a Motor Sich AN-12 UR-11819 apparently doing circuits at Dunsfold, having arrived from somewhere south of the Med... Height info looks iffy though but each circuit coincides neatly with the runway.
Now that's a strange pairing. I wonder what the heck that was about ?? Would've been glorious for a spotter to have been there, perhaps less so for the local residents ;-)
SpringHeeledJack is offline  
Old 11th Feb 2022, 16:01
  #2377 (permalink)  
Gnome de PPRuNe
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 60
Posts: 12,616
Received 291 Likes on 159 Posts
Apparently UR-CAH went into Dunsfold about a decade back and was painted in a USAF scheme for a film. Precedent?

I took a phone call at work five or six years ago, enquiring about getting a UK airfield runway checked to ensure it was suitable for AN-12 ops - that was film related. Passed it on to our aviation director - don't think it ever came to anything and the runway in question is very occasionally used by RAF C-17s, presumably during exercises.
treadigraph is offline  
Old 11th Feb 2022, 16:09
  #2378 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: London UK
Posts: 7,651
Likes: 0
Received 18 Likes on 15 Posts
Filming work ? Unlikely, but tends to get done at Dunsfold (and I see I crossed with Treadders note above).
WHBM is offline  
Old 11th Feb 2022, 16:48
  #2379 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: There and here
Posts: 2,863
Received 24 Likes on 17 Posts
I would agree that with filming work undertaken at Dunsfold, it's a good possible. That said it came from Brazzaville, so unlikely that it would be doing circuits at the end of that flight. Perhaps there was some issue with the aircraft/cargo/crew that needed to be resoved ?
SpringHeeledJack is offline  
Old 11th Feb 2022, 17:16
  #2380 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Reading, UK
Posts: 15,816
Received 201 Likes on 93 Posts
Originally Posted by SpringHeeledJack
I would agree that with filming work undertaken at Dunsfold, it's a good possible. That said it came from Brazzaville, so unlikely that it would be doing circuits at the end of that flight. Perhaps there was some issue with the aircraft/cargo/crew that needed to be resoved ?
Noted on Mode S (from here) at 1100' AMSL on final approach to Dunsfold just before 08:40. If it was doing circuits subsequently, they must have been low-level.
DaveReidUK is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.